to me they all seem the same. one big firm after another. im starting on callbacks soon and hopefully will get some offers. however, they all seem nice, friendly and generally have the same "quality" selling points.

what is good criteria for choosing a firm? i know there are "vault rankings" but honestly really how important is that? how much weight are rankings?

QOL, QOL, QOL. Ask them about their married partners, culture, etc. Having a stable marriage is immensely important, and I'd factor that into your decision making.

Vault's diversity statistics can actually be pretty helpful (along with NALP) because you can find out how many women and minorities are partners in the firm, how many partners work part-time, how much the firm is reaching out to minorities/women when hiring associates, etc. If you see a firm that has few women at the associate level and even fewer women at the partner level, that's probably not a firm where there's a good QOL. That diversity survey will probably also tell you how many people left over a year period and if the number is high, that's also a bad sign.

do u thik its worth it to become a vault member to do some research? i cant access any of the rankings besides top 100 prestige rankings from vault.com without signing up and paying $$. is there a way to see them without paying money? (or anyone who is a vault member care to share?)

Once you have offers, and are trying to decide between firms (hopefully!), you should ask whether they want people to strive to become partners, and if that is the sort of dedication they're looking for.

If they want people who, from their first summer with the firm, to say, "my goal is to make partner!" then they may turn out to be a firm that does not value their associates as much. The result of this may be grueling hours, and your years as an associate may be a trial, trying to weed out those not fit to make partner.

If, however, a firm values their associates for the necessary work they do, and not necessarily because they can repeat the mantra of "I want to make partner" you may end up much happier there whether your goal is to pay off debt, get in house, or actually make partner.

Ultimately, the best way to distill the truth about a firm's quality of life is to get at it indirectly by asking question like the above that may clue you in to things. Another good question to ask of associates and partners alike is what activities, charities, boards, etc. they are involved in. The more activities and social life associates have, the more balanced their workload likely is.

do u thik its worth it to become a vault member to do some research? i cant access any of the rankings besides top 100 prestige rankings from vault.com without signing up and paying $$. is there a way to see them without paying money? (or anyone who is a vault member care to share?)

Your school's career services may have a membership, but what it includes may vary by school.

You can still check out firm demographics for free on NALP, which should give you a good starting point if you can't access Vault.

to me they all seem the same. one big firm after another. im starting on callbacks soon and hopefully will get some offers. however, they all seem nice, friendly and generally have the same "quality" selling points.

what is good criteria for choosing a firm? i know there are "vault rankings" but honestly really how important is that? how much weight are rankings?

the great thing about chambers and partners is that it ranks specific practice areas. if you have a general idea of what you wanna do that site may be better for you than vault.

also, keep in mind that even if the QOL at a firm sucks, the exit options at that particular firm may be amazing so if you can suck it up for just a few years you should be able to lateral out with ease. you may also wanna speak to upperclassmen or practicing attorneys that know something about this.